


Everybody Haunts Keito

by suomikan



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Non-Idol AU, Will add tags/warnings as I update since some chapters will be dark in nature, Yokai AU, nobody asked for this but I'm writing it anyways, past character death if that makes any sense, very self-indulgent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-05-02 13:26:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14545707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suomikan/pseuds/suomikan
Summary: Keito is home alone at his family’s temple and he hoped everyday would be like any other until it all goes down and he finds out the entire mountain is haunted.





	1. In Summer they Cry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's up, you would not believe the amount of work I'm giving myself and my beta by posting this. But my beta probably doesn't care cause they went over this and commented only about cheese so... yeah. You're in for a ride.
> 
> I've been thinking of this AU longer then my other fic so I'm kinda glad I get to share some of it with you so... I hope you enjoy it~

Keito woke to the sound of rustling.

It was hot, and the heavy blanket on top of him didn’t add any comfort when he sat up slowly.

The whole room was a blur. The tatami mat's were a muted yellow beneath his futon, and the sliding door to his right was dark since the sun wasn’t quite up yet. His desk light was still on, and it was only now he noticed there was someone standing in front of him. They were mess of color, save for their hands in front of his face holding his glasses out for him.

“Yo Boss, ya need these?”

“Kiryuu…” Keito rubbed his eyes and blindly reached for his lenses, missing them the first time, and managing to grab them the second.

It was summer break, and that meant lot of things for a high schooler; beaches, amusement parks, friends, sleeping in late... But for Keito it meant chores at the temple; more cleaning, more work, and waking up at the ungodly hour of four in the morning.

“What are you doing here?” he asked groggily, doing his best not to rub his eyes open and squint at the large red shape.

“I asked if I could stay over with you and you said yes.” Kuro pushed back his bangs and sighed. “My sister wanted to stay with her friends so I had no one else to hang out with y’see.”

“Is that so...” Keito blinked remembering the conversation they had at school the other day. He recalled Sakuma trying to invite himself over too and vehemently refused when the dark-haired teen complained about his brother not wanting to be near him.

Plus Eichi was off doing god knows what, but he expected his childhood friend to drop by anyways so it didn’t really matter who was staying with the dark green haired teen that summer.

“Well okay then.” Keito sighed before rubbing his face. “I’m surprised you’re up before me. Usually you sleep in if all your absences have anything to say about it. Couldn’t sleep?”

“Not really.” Kuro shrugged and lifted his arms up to stretch. Any higher and he’ll knock over the stack of books on Keito's shelf. “There’s just somethin’ about this place that makes me restless, but don't worry 'bout it. I don’t get how you can wake up this early so just take it like a rare occasion.”

“It’s called discipline.” Keito steely replied. He stood up to get ready, warily looking over to Kuro who was still wearing what he did last night. “I’m going to walk around the temple to make sure everything’s okay, go make breakfast if you’re bored.”

“Got it Boss.” He watched the taller man shuffle towards the door and open it, disappearing down the hall within minutes.

He could hear Kuro’s house slippers against the wooden floor and water trickling outside of his room when he pushed his blanket off. Fishing for his own shoes Keito finished dressing before leaving the room himself, taking a deep breath of early morning air.

Keito’s room was towards the back, facing a sprawling garden that housed a large pond and several different types of plants. Numerous flower petals dotted the water's surface, and the overlapping trees that stood to the side had branches and leaves dipping into the pond causing ripples.

The narrow pathway that his family recently set down wasn’t as wet as the grass so Keito decided to he could get away with walking through the yard before checking on the front first.

There were lots of places in the garden that beckoned guests to take a seat. The smell of dew in the air was everywhere and the view of the sunrise from the mountain was a pleasant sight to behold. Though in the green haired teen's opinion it was even lovelier when the clouds cleared and he had a hot cup of tea resting in his hands.

Brushing off the temptation to stay a bit longer he finally made it around to the main gate, taking note to sweep up the stray early summer leaves that made their home on the wooden walkways. The donation box was emptied the night before and there were no signs of loiterers or trash on the grounds within sight. Which was fair since no one would willingly climb a mountain to vandalize a temple at this time of year. (Not until festival season of course, which was a painful time in Keito's opinion.)

Moving on there were a few heavy doors to the side that led to a section of the property that was off limits to everyone besides his family and the residing monks. The area around the building was nothing special save for an old cherry blossom tree standing outside and an equally worn out lantern dangling near the entry. But there was something about the set-up that felt comforting so there have not been plans of getting rid of them soon.

Pulling the doors open Keito grabbed a stopper to keep them from closing on him and walked in.

The room was sparse. Its floor the same yellow tatami as his room and rafter wood a similar finish of lacquer. At the end of the room towards the furthest wall was a small shrine decorated with orange fabrics and sculpted jade. Strings of white beads cascaded down the fabric and overlapped each other on the floor like a waterfall. A stand was set up in front of it holding a bow horizontal to the ground. A patterned red cloth served as a mat underneath it, looking a bit too old for wear.

While it wasn’t a national treasure the _yumi_ had been at this temple for as long as Keito could remember. And now that he was older he was given the duty to take care of it more intimately. He even had permission to string it during the summer so the bamboo could retain its shape in the heat.

Grabbing a braided red cord from a box closest to the display stand Keito began to loop the string around the bows nock, being very careful to recite the directions in his head with care. It didn’t feel long but the sun was already creeping through the upper windows when he finished tying the final knot. Once he made sure the measurements were perfect he placed the bow back on its stand and bowed. A small loop secured the braid with a piece of jade attached with it for good luck.

Before he could air out the room any more the smell of something delicious snuck in through the doorway, which meant Kuro was probably done making breakfast. Sighing Keito decided it could wait later that week since there was going to be rain later that night. Plus he wanted to eat before Kiryuu’s cooking got cold.

 

 

Once Keito reached the kitchen he was greeted by the red headed teen, frilly apron tied around his waist and chopsticks in his hand.

“Ya done with your rounds boss?” Kuro watched as Keito made his way over to the sink to wash his hands and grabbed a rice paddle. “I didn’t make the soup yet since I don’t know where ya moved the miso, so can ya grab it for me?”

Bending over to grab an unopened box of miso from the fridge Keito nudged the taller teen aside to spoon some of it into a pot. Yellow-green eyes watched warily as the green-haired vice president tried to figure out the exact amount of miso on his spoon and scratched his head.

“Don’t burn it boss. Remember what happened the last time I let ya help?”

“It’s been two years. I’ll have you know I can make miso soup now Kiryuu...” Keito began to stir the paste into a ladle and dissolve it into the semi-boiling water, making sure no lumps remained. “And don’t you dare think about adding that block of shit into it. I’ll kick you out if you do.”

“But adding tofu in miso is a tradition at my place,” Kuro diced the block with ease and held it out to the younger teen who grimaced a little. “Plus you’re out of seaweed, so deal with it. If I have more time I’ll throw in some carrots if it bothers ya that much.”

“You’re really going to compare that monstrosity to tradition?” A frown was etched into Keito’s face as he watched the blocks of disgusting goop get added to the pot. “If I get even one piece of that incorrigible mush in my system I’m killing you, you bastard.”

“I’d like to see ya try,” Kuro laughed. “Here, if it’s done let’s go eat. I even used the stone pot to cook the rice this time so we can treat ourselves to some burnt bits~"

Keito’s eyes narrowed darkly, “You’re still not getting out of putting crap in the miso. Well whatever. We’ll get some seaweed later if you’re so adamant about it. We're also out of carrots too, so I'll make sure to buy some later.”

He stared at the white cubes of tofu swirling in the pot.

How incorrigible.

 

 

The table was already set for two when Keito walked out holding their bowls of soup. One without tofu because Kiryu was a traitor and 'untrustworthy' so he had to serve himself to save face.

Now that he was seated he realized how large the temple’s dining area actually was without anyone around.

Rows upon rows of seats reminded Keito how many people could probably fit in this place, and it made him feel slightly uneasy as he counted the chairs. The unexpectedly shy high school student preferred to eat in his room while his parents and brother were away, but since ‘his friend’ was here he thought he could manage eating in the dining area in the meantime.

Speaking of his friend, the ‘ogre’ who was supposed to join him was sure taking his time. Keito was about to get up and head back to the kitchen to ask what was taking so long when Kuro appeared holding two trays of their breakfast in the doorway.

A monster. There’s no way a normal human being should be able to carry everything the red headed teen had in his hands with ease.

“Boss?”

Keito silently entertained the thought of Kuro with horns before moving over to help lay out their food. “You made too much. What are you going to do with all this extra food? Offer it to the gods?”

The punk had the nerve to look like he was thinking about it before he let out a chuckle. “Not a bad idea, we have one or two spirits in here right now ya'know. Wanna grab a chair for’em?”

Keito almost thought his glasses fell off when he bumped the table with his knees. “D-don’t joke about that. I don’t want to deal with anything like ghosts when we already have a busy day ahead of us, l-let’s hurry up and eat.”

Kuro shrugged and clapped his hands in prayer, ignoring the nervous look Keito was digging a hole with in his rice, “If ya say so.”

 

 

The rest of their day was uneventful since it was only the first day of vacation, and the temple wasn’t open to the public until the summer storm passed so it wasn't like they were expecting any visitors.

After sweating outside, cleaning up leaves, and pulling out weeds the two high schoolers had lunch and dinner relatively peacefully. (Which was soy free since Keito was still a little miffed about breakfast). And while Kuro excused himself to take a bath Keito decided it was the perfect time to go around the second time that day and make sure the grounds were locked up for the night.

Stopping in front of the heavy wooden doors that led to the bow, Keito could almost feel a chill run up his spine when he grabbed the handle. The air was a lot cooler now that the sun had set, and the storm was rolling in a lot faster than he anticipated. And while there was the option of lighting the worn out lantern near the entrance, Keito decided it wouldn’t matter since the rain would put it out later and walked towards the room using the last remains of moonlight as his guide.

The weapon was still resting in the same position he left it in this morning when he reached for the light switch. When they finally flickered on a light patter of rain began to hit the roof as he glossed over the carvings of the bow with his fingertips. Its name was engraved towards the bottom of the handle, covered with a black and white stitched sleeve that Keito removed with ease.

 _An eternal moon_.

If Keito were his younger self he might have laughed at how cheesy the bow's name sounded. But when he took into account the shape and age of the _yumi_  it truly did live up to its name.

When he reattached the bandage he felt his foot kick something from underneath him. On the floor was the jade bead that Keito braided into the string earlier that morning. Eyebrows furrowed he grabbed the loose end of the cord that was supposed to have been knotted, and re-strung the bead again.

Still a little confused Keito quickly checked the room one more time before he finally closed and locked the door behind him. The moon was already covered by incoming storm clouds, and he didn’t want to risk getting wet when his vision was already impaired, so he hurried back to the main temple in a hurry.

Maybe it was because he was in a hurry that he didn’t hear the loud noise come from the shrine behind him that he didn't go back to check on it. Or maybe it was because of the loud clap of thunder that followed soon after it. But as soon as he was under his futon again, Kuro pacing in the other room he thought to himself, maybe he should have turned around and checked one more time... just in case.

But how was he to know that?

 

 

 _Gone_.

It was gone.

The weapon that should have been resting on the stand was missing. Poof, bang, _gone_. And Keito never thought his stomach could sink any lower. And that includes the time Eichi held up that damn doujin he drew when he was eight.

Running to where Kuro was and explaining what happened he was surprised to see the color drain as fast from the other teens face as it did when he finished and immediately had the both of them split up to look for signs of the bow. Or at least maybe some clues to where the someone could have gone with it.

It was large so there was no way that anyone could have gotten far with it. But after searching the grounds ten times over and finding nothing Keito was already coming to terms with the fact he had to explain how he lost a priceless _yumi_  to his parents and older brother. And there was no way he was getting away with a whack to the head for repentance.

 

The sun was already setting on the second day of his summer vacation, and Keito was a few seconds away from losing his mind.

Catching his breath he made his way back to the bow’s shrine and leaned against the doorway. For some reason the thing Kuro said the other day made its way back into his head.

It was dumb, but maybe there was a chance something spirited away the _yumi._ There are popular stories of mischievous _yokai_ who play pranks on humans and steal precious treasure away from them. Maybe this just happened to be one of those situations.

“~♪”

“How incorrigible, I’m starting to hear things now,” Keito turned his head to where the humming came from and froze.

“~♪ ~~♪”

Where the bow should’ve been was a small, orange haired girl sitting on the floor with her back towards him. She was humming some kind of tune akin to an opera. Actually, maybe they were a boy since their voice seemed to be a bit lower?

Their twilight-colored hair was brushed to the side and tied with a long piece of red string over their shoulder. _Braided_. The long dark red fabric that used to be underneath the bow stand was wrapped around their neck like a scarf, its edges noticeably tattered at the bottom due to age. And while he couldn’t really see the color of their clothes underneath their _haori_ , Keito knew the outfit looked like it was straight out of the end of a Meiji-era drama and- _oh no_.

 

This can’t be happening.

Yellow-green eyes widened when the child (?) stopped humming and turned around to confirm his suspicions. If the black and white stitched bandages wrapped around their wrists didn’t give it away then the sharp jade eyes and mischievous smile did.

‘ _Please don’t let this be a shitty shounen battle manga_.’

“ _Ya_? It’s Keito! Long time no see, uchuu~☆!”

Yup, this was a shitty shounen battle manga.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like Leo. It's Leo's birthday. Happy Birthday Leo.
> 
> So I really like the 3rd Anniversary art. Everyone looks really good in white suits. Much hype. So nice.
> 
> If you haven't guessed, this is supposed to be a fun, crackish fic. Too bad that won't last for long. Did you get the "ya" joke though? Ya means arrow and Leo is- Oh. You get it already? Alright.
> 
> Updates will be very, VERY sporadic. But if you liked what you read, then please... save yourself before this progresses any more. Love yourself.


	2. The Inevitable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back.
> 
> I see some of you clicked this. Thank you for sticking with me even though I'm supposed to be working on another fic. ;w;
> 
> Now here is chapter 2! Enjoy~

“Ahh, I want to write…”

Leo was watching the cherry blossoms fall outside from an open window when the monks came in. He twirled his long scarf over his hands, more out of muscle memory then on purpose as the doors creaked open.

Something was up.

Usually the apparent realm was so boring. The only source of excitement in the last hundred years of Leo's ‘life’ was when another yokai came by to visit, or when someone would walk into his sanctuary to tidy up the place. And even though he enjoyed passing time by playing tricks on some older looking monk, like letting a draft into the room and scribbling on the floors in a forgotten language, not all humans could see the work of a spirit, so it mostly went unnoticed. Until now that is.

Leo almost hit himself in the face with the fabric when he realized this wasn’t the usual room cleaning and found himself face to face with a small, green haired boy- a bespectacled young boy, no older then five, who was staring straight at him.

“Father, there's someone in here-“

The older monk placed his hand on the child’s head reassuringly, making him look up at him before leaning down to whisper something in his ear. Leo felt his throat tighten. This child had sight. And from what he can tell, the amount of people in the room set alarms off in his head.

‘Hey now…’ the small ‘bow’ watched as the monks circled the room. His vessel, a _yumi,_  was placed in the middle of of them on a bed of silk. ‘I don’t know what you guys are gonna do, but its better if you-‘

“Don’t worry Keito. You won’t be able to see them after this.”

‘Wait-,’ Before Leo could reach out to the child his knees began to feel weak. His arms became heavy and his breath began to labor. How long has it been since anyone’s seen him? How long has he waited for this moment only to have it striped away as soon as it started?

Something flashed through his mind before he fell to the floor. He clutched his head in pain. His arms felt like they were being seared with liquid iron and his body bound with scratchy ropes. The chanting in the room became louder and harsher as the seconds ticked by. The things this child has seen, the memories of shadows lurking behind every corner.

He felt it. Curiosity, innocence… _fear_. He was trapped in a binding ritual.

As his vision began to fade the last thing he saw were the boy’s yellow-green eyes staring into his.

Leo almost laughed. To think the sealing process he thought was long forgotten by man was being used against him. It seems people never really cease to amaze him. How desperate! How endearing! His inspiration was overflowing!

From this point on it seemed like he was this boy’s… No, he was _Keito’s_ regalia.

…He was going to write him a nice, long song before he can see him again. A ballad maybe? One of the fluttering blossoms outside. He still had a few more years to decide. But first, he was going to take a nice long nap.

 

Keito sat up gasping for breath.

Kuro was watching him from the side of his futon. His right hand was holding a wet cloth over a bowl of cold water. The green haired teen ran a hand through his hair before realizing he was in his room now. His vision was still blurry having woken up suddenly, but before Keito could say anything Kuro was already handing him a glass of water. “Are ya okay Boss? Ya looked like you were havin’ a bad dream.”

“W-where is it…?” Keito’s mouth felt dry, his eyes were frantically looking around the room trying to make out anything from the blurry colors. What time was it? What _day_ was it? He took the glass from the red-headed teen and downed it. “Where is the bow?”

“Bow?” Kuro looked confused. “Bow, what bow? Are ya still dreamin’?”

He furrowed his eyebrows. Was Kuro trying to play dumb? Because if he was, he was doing a horrible job at it.

“Yesterday, it went missing. We spent all day trying to look for it. How could you forget?”

His heart was pounding from a dream that felt like someone else’s. Keito's hands were shaking. He could still remember the panic he felt looking for it. The bow was gone. And when he went back to the shrine in its place was-

A wet towel was slapped onto his forehead before he was pushed down onto the futon. His empty glass of water pushed to the side. “If you’re not feelin’ good just lay down already. I made some _okayu_ so you can eat it when you’re feelin’ better but just rest for now Boss.”

Kuro gave him a look that looked like a mix of worry and exhaustion. Judging from the dark circles underneath his eyes, Keito gathered the other boy stayed up all night taking care of him. Feeling a little bad he kept his mouth shut. “I found ya passed out in that shrine you take care of last night- somethin' must’ve spooked ya. You were as white as a ghost.”

“A ghost, huh…” Keito lifted his hand to adjust the towel on his head. He really wanted to check on the room again but the concerned look Kuro gave him made him think it truly was all just a dream. That twilight-orange hair tied with a braided red cord… Their sharp jade eyes that pierced him like an arrow. There was no way a person, if he could really call them a person, like that even existed. And he was better off without them as well.

Yellow-green eyes turned towards the unhealthy amount of empty energy drink cans on his desk and then to the screen doors that led outside. As much as that dream had him feeling uneasy, Keito couldn’t help but feel the small amount of nostalgia it brought with it. Kuro was already getting up to leave when Keito saw something move outside.

“Kiryuu, did you see that just now-?”

“I’m gonna get some fresh air,” Kuro cut him off and sharply turned his head towards the door. “It’s gotten a little windy but you wouldn’t mind if I leave the door open right?”

“That’s... fine.” Keito decided to not push it and reached for his glasses by the side of his pillow. It took him once, twice to grab at them before he gave up.

The smell of flowers and young summer leaves in his room helped him relax despite the cold shoulder Kuro was suddenly giving him. The red head looked like he had something he wanted to say, but after a huff and few grunts he was out the door leaving the green haired teen to stare at his ceiling in thought.

Suspicious… that muscle head was definitely hiding something from him. Maybe after they both get some time alone to think he could bring the topic back up again.

He was about to go back to sleep when he heard a scream come from the front of the temple.

Bolting up again Keito grabbed his glasses and shot off towards the door. His dream was continuing whether he liked it or not.

 

Weird. This was all too weird.

As Keito ran from his room to find where the scream came from he couldn’t help but notice a few things that seemed amiss.

Forget about the bow being missing last night. He could hear footsteps following after him when he left his room. But when he turned around there was nobody there. It was when he was looking for any footprints that he tripped over something at his feet. He looked down to discover a small patterned ball rolled out from the main hall. When he gathered up the courage to throw it back, the ball bounced a few times before completely disappearing into thin air, leaving the glasses wearing boy to stare into the empty room by himself. And it only got worse.

He eventually reached the front, but between the skittering in the walls and something that sounded like a dog whimpering there were so many noises happening around him that Keito was starting to feel a bit dizzy. The donation box clattered as if it was filled with coins, tree's rustled as if they were being shaken and he could even hear water splash from the garden like someone was playing in the pond.

However, as soon as he grabbed the handle to the front door everything went quiet.

No footsteps, no chattering, _nothing_.

The screaming had stopped by now and Keito was beginning to regret leaving his room without finding Kuro. All of this was giving him the same stomach-sinking feeling he had when he saw that orange-haired boy last night. And dream or not, when he pushed open the door he had to stop to take in the sight ahead of him.

A pink flower petal caressed his cheek before his yellow-green eyes were able to register the dying cherry blossom tree in front of him was blooming. _At the end of June_.

The once bare tree that seemed like it was reaching the end of its life stood strong in front of him and was in full bloom. Gentle pinks and snow-white petals flew around him before swirling to the floor, covering the ground and nearby hydrangea's in a pink, soft blanket.

The once quiet mountain he lived on was alive.

 

It was alive, but with what?

 

He decided to go back to his room, dusting flower petals off his arms on the floor in the entrance way. He had to find the taller red-head teen if he wanted to investigate more. He stared at the pink petals, daring them to melt away into the floor. When he blinked and they were still there was no way all of this could be brushed off as a dream now.

Keito ran (or walked very fast) through the temple again. He almost slipped on a puddle that somehow materialized in the middle of the hall and had to throw his soggy socks off somewhere to collect later with frustration. As he passed by the garden he was able to catch movement in the corner of his eye. It was brief but they looked like people, some wearing masks and some looking like they came straight out of a supernatural fiction manga. Had the summer heat finally gotten to him or was he finally spirited away?

When he reached the door to his room he had to stop and catch his breath.

His room was still in the same condition he left it in. Sunlight reflecting off the water caused cool greens and brilliant yellows to dance on his ceiling and walls. Some blues were caught between the shadows of maple leaves and swirled in patterns like an extravagant kimono. Despite the beautiful scene splayed out for him Keito rushed straight to his desk to look for his cell phone. Typing in his password wrong two times he finally opened the phone app and was about to dial Kuro’s number until he heard tiny footsteps come from down the hall.

This time he listened carefully. It wasn’t the sound of a child, or something big enough to echo the noise he heard earlier. It was smaller. Animal-like even.

The screen door that served as a wall separated Keito from where the sound came from. The footsteps sounded wet, sloshy, and strangely he could hear the soft jingle of a bell. There was a bit of skirting before a shadow passed in front of the screen. It stopped and the creature's head turned towards the teen like it knew where he was.

Keito waited with baited breath before a small turtle head plunged through the paper and started screaming.

“HASUMI-DONO!! ARE YOU OKAY!?”

“Who the-?” Keito fell onto his butt, glasses askew. There was a tiny turtle crawling through the hole he just made. Bright, beady purple eyes staring up at him with admiration.

“Oooohhhh! So Hasumi-dono can see me! All this time I thought Hasumi-dono was too busy to pay me any mind but it’s true, you can see us again!”

‘Who? What? Us?’ Keito had a million questions running through his head, and at the same time he had this tiny little turtle was sparkling up at him. The turtle's shell was a deep purple, and he had a cute white bow tied around his head. He also didn’t realize his two hind legs were caught on the door frame, so while he was walking towards Keito he wasn’t getting any closer. The turtle regarded him quite highly. Keito noted he was probably an airhead.

“Wahaha! See, I told _ya_.” A voice piqued up from behind him. The green haired teen dreaded to turn around. He recognized that voice as clear as day. But surprisingly he wasn’t as annoyed to hear it as he thought he would be. The lights bouncing off his walls were gravitating near him now, giving him the impression he wasn't wrong the events lately had been supernatural.

“His ‘vision’ came back last night. Well, saying that might be a bit inaccurate since it was never really gone from the start. But you get what I mean.”

Keito was greeted with bright, jade eyes and that same shit-eating grin exclusive to the bow spirit. He was wearing the same thing last night, only now Keito had a better look at the gold  _shippou_ pattern on the brown _haori,_ and the olive kimono hiked over their left shoulder.

“What’s the matter _Keito_? You gonna pass out like _ya_ did last night?”

“Now, now Tsukinaga. That’s no way to treat your master. He’s still in shock.” Kuro was kneeling in the doorway, helping the tiny turtle who somehow rolled onto his back up. “Yo boss. I guess I can’t dance around the situation like I did earlier huh?”

“Kiryuu, what’s going on?” Keito was tired. He desperately looked between Kuro and the bow-turned-human who was beginning to hum some kind of tune. “Did you know about this the whole time?”

Kuro rubbed the back of his head. In doing so, Keito caught the tips of horns peeking out from black streaked strands.

“An _oni_. Why am I not surprised?”

“I did a good job hidin’ it.” Kuro grinned. “So what do ya wanna know?”

“I- I guess everything?” Keito grabbed the chair from his desk to sit down. He felt a little betrayed. To think his friend had been living a double life and hiding it from him. The turtle from earlier had already made its way near his foot so he picked it up to pat its head making it trill. “What are you doing here, how many of you are here…”

He shot Kuro and the yumi a glare. “You’re not here to trick me into trusting you and then eat me right?”

The room grew quiet before Leo burst out laughing. Kuro rolled his eyes and let the orange haired yokai have his fun before motioning for Keito to look towards him.

“Like hell we’ll eat ya. You don’t look remotely delicious Boss. Maybe if you put on a bit more meat we’ll consider it.” Kuro looked at the human fondly. “I’m sorry I kept this from ya, but I just wanted to keep ya safe.”

“You’re forgiven…” Keito sighed. This was a story he never thought he would’ve gotten dragged into. He’s going to have to research more about these guys if he wanted to be prepared for what was going to come. How many different spirits were there?

“And what about you?” He looked towards the laughing orange haired spirit. “Are you going to answer my questions you bastard?”

Leo stopped laughing, his hiccups were a little cute if it wasn’t for the fact he was a deadly hundred-something-year old weapon.

“I guess you can say we’re here to have a good time.” The yumi’s fingers twitched in his arms, he eyed the magic marker resting on Keito’s desk and debated jumping over to grab it. “It gets lonely you know. Hundreds of years of being ignored make even the grumpiest of spirits crave attention. We get restless.”

Keito almost looked sympathetic.

“As for how many of us are here…” The same shit-eating grin was back. “I guess that’s for us to know and you to find out~♪”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, at this point I'm gonna have some fun so I hope you all are strapped in because I'm ready to get a little goofy and a little... mean(?) with future chapters. 'Nothing' but 'Everything' is set for next chapter so I'll see you all until then~


	3. Fortune is Unpredictable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With every passing day I get closer to updating... oh. Hi there, I guess the update's here. Enjoy~

The shopping bag Keito carried was filled to the brim with carrots and other groceries. But mostly carrots.

It was getting late, and while there were a few sun-showers earlier that day the green-haired teen still had to go into town to buy ingredients for dinner. He didn’t mean to get that many root vegetables, especially when the bright orange color reminded him of the yumi following behind him. But after that miso soup incident with Kuro, and the sudden increase of occupants at the temple (if a turtle could be counted as one), there was no harm in stocking up on extra vegetables.

‘Maybe I should learn how to garden…’ Keito glanced behind to make sure the bow was still close by. When he didn’t see him, he turned around and was surprised to see the yumi stopped a few stores away looking at a display.

“If you’re gonna follow me the least you can do is stay close. I’m not going to look for you if you get lost.”

Leo ignored him, which made the teen slightly irritated as he walked over. The orange haired spirit was standing in front of a small shop selling charms and keychains, staring intently at the merchandise as if they were worth more than they cost. Now that Keito thought about it, the bow must’ve been stuck in that storage room for a long time. It must be a shock to see how much everything changed in the last hundred years.

The yumi motioned towards some tiny, plush animals and smiled. “Don’t _ya_ think this cat is cute?”

Keito saw the small white tiger Leo was pointing at and blinked. It was an overpriced pom-pom, but he couldn’t deny the cat character looked a little cute. He could recall a few he doodled on the side of his notebook when he studied at home and sighed.

To Leo’s confusion Keito picked up the keychain, which to his surprised jingled since there was a bell sewn inside, and headed straight into the store. Leo stood outside for a few minutes before realizing he was left alone. He was about to panic before Keito came back out and handed the fluff ball over to him. “Here, if you like it so much keep it safe.”

“Uuuuu,” Leo looked up to the human teen with teary eyes. “I thought Keito was gonna leave me here to fend for myself! I like you- no, I LOVE you! Uwaaaaaahhh!!” He tried hugging Keito which made the teen almost drop their groceries.

“Don’t make a scene! What are you going to do if someone see’s you-” Keito stopped cold. He was talking to a yokai. Which meant he was talking to something the majority of society thought didn’t exist. Yellow green eyes looked around to see if anyone was staring at him funny. He was relieved to find everyone was preoccupied with the busy shopping district then a teenager buying a gift for a hundred-something year old spirit. If Tsukinaga was going to be around him more often he had to be careful. Relieved, he lowered his voice. “C’mon, let’s head back. Kiryuu must be worried.”

This brought another thought in his head. If this whole time his ‘sight’ as Leo liked to call it was sealed away, then what's the deal about Kuro? How was anybody, including himself, able to see him? He went to school like any other teenager and had a little sister doing the same exact thing. Was he strong enough to maintain a ‘human’ form this whole time? Were his entire family yokai’s as well?

There were so many questions running through Keito’s head that he was starting to get a headache. His bow, or regalia as Leo introduced later to him that day, said everything will be explained eventually, and for now just to have ‘fun’ (Which was a little annoying since there was nothing _fun_ about being a normal high schooler discovering you can see spirits during your summer break).

Keito felt a drop of water land on his nose and looked up. The sky was still clear, but a light drizzle began to fall.

“Oh, a fox wedding.” He turned to see Leo was glancing up at the sky as well. The spirit looked like he was in deep thought before a small smile crossed his face. “Hmm, maybe not. It a little early for that.”

He was about to ask what Leo meant before the rain grew heavier and left splotches of water on the pavement. The sky was beginning to get darker, and Keito suddenly realized he didn’t bring an umbrella when they left.

Damn. He was going to be drenched when he got home.

There were a few residential areas beyond the shopping district he could take cover at, but he had to hurry and get to the bus stop soon or he'll be practically stranded! He shifted the bags in his hands and began running. It would’ve been better if Leo could help carry the ingredients, but the spirit didn’t seem to be able to lift anything heavier than the keychain so he let him pass.

“Tsukinaga, hurry up. We can take shelter at the bus stop if we run.”

“Got it!" Despite being a ghost Leo's left a trail of footprints in their wake. "The sound of rain hitting the streets, the echo of water in the trees! I could write a song about all the things I’ve seen tonight~!”

The teen didn’t think a grocery run could warrant such a feeling, but then again there were a lot of things he didn't understand, like the turtle back at the temple who feels indebted to him, so anything was possible at this point. Feeling slightly uneasy at how the yokai stared at him as they ran, Keito decided to ignore the humming behind him.

“I think I see the bus stop. Let's stop there so I can call Kiryuu to let him know we’re almost home.” Just as he was about to reach for his phone Keito saw someone kneeling on the road ahead of them. On the ground there was a torn, soggy cardboard box with mewling coming from inside it. He could see a striped white tail peeking out and the words ‘Please take me home’ scribbled on the box and-

Oh no.

This better not be one of those things where a rugged thug shelters an abandoned kitten in the rain. Oh please. Anything but that.

Against Keito's better judgement he squinted his eyes so he could get a better look at the person holding their umbrella over the box. The back of their shirt was getting soaked by the rain (a bad sign) but they were smiling at the cat and... ugggghhh. Keito couldn’t take this anymore, petting the cat as it purred happily up at them.

Cliché. This was too cliché.

Keito was about to turn around and head up the mountain (bus be damned) before he heard a voice called out to him.

“Boss, there you are!”

If Leo wasn't standing in the way and Keito wasn’t holding several bags of carrots, the green-headed teen would’ve run in the opposite direction of Kuro’s voice. The red ogre was heading towards them with the striped, amber-eyed kitten nestled in his arms.

“It was rainin’ so I thought I’d come down and pick ya up. But instead I found this little guy and felt kinda bad for’em since he was out in the rain. Can I take’em back to the temple and dry’em off Boss?”

Ignoring how Kuro’s hair was plastered to his forehead the green-haired teen frowned. “Kiryuu, if putting tofu in my miso soup made me disappointed in you then this draws a whole new line.”

The taller yokai looked confused. “Did I do somethin’ wrong?”

Keito could feel another headache coming. Leo was circling the cat Kuro was holding, and as cute as it was to watch a small paw try to grab at the yokai, Keito and the ogre were getting soaked. “No, you didn’t. Let’s just head back to the temple and-” He gestured towards the cat, “-get this sorted out there. I don’t want to stand in the rain any longer.”

He handed one of the bags in his hands to Kuro and he could’ve sworn he saw the cat shrink away from it. “The bus is supposed to come in ten minutes, but we can run if you want?”

“Nah, we don’t need to run.” Kuro led Keito around the bus stop where a bike rack was set up.

The shorter teen had to take a few minutes to register what he was looking at before realization dawned upon him.

“Waaaahh!” Leo circled the motorcycle excitedly. “What is this Kuro?”

Kuro looked between the other yokai and Keito who was shaking his head vehemently. “I humans call it a steel horse, but really it’s a two-wheeled carriage. I got my license the other day so I thought you’d wanna go for ride.”

Keito had to take a large gulp before he crossed his arms defiantly. “You’re not making me get on that.”

The grin he got in response was terrifying. “Well, you don’t have a choice.”

Yellow green eyes moved frantically between the oni and the yumi. “No. No. No. No. No. Don’t look at me like that.”

“Too late!”

And the last thing Keito saw were the two yokai’s and a cat diving for him.

 

* * *

 

“HASUMI-DONO! I HEARD HASUMI-DONO HAS COME BACK!”

“Kanzaki, don’t stick your head through the shoji.” Kuro reached down to pick up the small turtle that was excitedly crawling from a new hole he made in the screen. “It costs money to replace these ya’know.”

“Oh, I apologize Kiryuu-dono! Let me redeem myself by offering you my shell to repair it.”

“No, that’s not necessary Kanzaki.”

“I feel sick.” Keito was lying in bed, ignoring the turtle who resumed screaming greetings at him. After Kuro and Leo hoisted him onto the bike earlier it had been a bumpy trip back up the mountain and he was not in the mood for a shouting match. The turtle was now happily staring at him from a water basin Kuro set out that morning, smiling ear to ear. How incorrigible.

“Lucky...” His attention moved to Leo who was sitting besides him, watching the cat snuggle deeper into Kuro’s jacket. “To think you can pick someone like him up in the streets. Whoever abandoned him must’ve been an idiot!”

“Keep it down Tsukinaga,” Keito scolded. Souma finally quieted down, but between the water splashes and vocal kitten there were still too many noises in the room making his head throb. “We may be away from people here but that doesn’t mean you can yell.”

“Hmm? Sorry Keito~ but I’m weak to small animals!” The orange haired yokai began to rub the cats belly, receiving another purr in return. “You’re amazing aren’t you? You’re younger then me but you’ve probably seen more of this world then I have~. Welcome to your new home, wahaha!”

Keito turned his head towards Leo and frowned, “I hope you all realize I can’t take in a cat, much less a newborn here. I already have the lot of you to deal with.”

“But Keito, if you thought he’s a normal cat you’re wrong.” Leo gave him a disapproving look.

The green-haired teen raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“He’s a tiger! A five hundred year old one to be exact.”

“A what-!?”

“Ossu!” Keito snapped his head towards the ‘tiger’ who was staring at him with bright amber eyes. The sun was beginning to set, and the break in the storm clouds allowed light to cast a warm halo around the tiger’s white coat. “Nagumo Tetora’s my name! It’s nice to meet you-ssu!”

The cub leaped out of Kuro’s jacket and shook any remaining water off his coat. He spun a few times before he laid on the towels spread out on the floor. “I thought I was gonna to freeze to death-ssu. But Taishou came to my rescue! Thank you for bringing me home when no one else even noticed me, I’m forever indebted to you-ssu!”

“Oh god the cat’s talking, this is turning into that one shoujo manga now…”

“Don’t be a drama queen.” Kuro bent down to help towel off the tiger. “You need to start gettin' used to this. Yokai are gonna start appearin' at the door, and them sittin' down for a chat is what worries ya the most? Did you forget most of'em would rather eat ya-Oh, here Tetsu, let me dry ya more properly~”

Keito huffed, “Well it's not my fault most of you look human. Don’t yokai usually have horns or masks to distinguish them? I wouldn’t have known Tsukinaga was one if it wasn’t for his clothes!”

“Is there something wrong with my clothes?” Leo peered down at his kimono. He rubbed the black and white bindings around his arms with concern.

“No, nothin’s wrong with it." Keito reassured. "It's just not many people choose slasher cosplay as their everyday wear.” He watched as the tiger cub puffed up into a giant fluff ball once Kuro was done. “But back to the cat problem, I'm afraid you can’t stay here Nagumo.”

“Ehhhhh!?” Tetora jumped onto all fours. Tears started to form in his bright amber eyes. “Please reconsider! I don’t have anywhere else to go!”

The white cat crouched onto the floor with his paws in front of his head, imitating a familiar red headed underclassman. “I’ll do anything-ssu! A-at least let me stay long enough to repay you for your kindness. O-or maybe until the rain stops- I beg of you!”

Keito felt his cheeks heat up. He could see the small tiger begin to shake as if he were scared. A hum came from behind him and Keito turned to see Leo and Kuro looking at him as if he were the bad guy.

“Look Kuro, glasses is so mean. I bet he secretly likes having the poor thing bow down to him.”

“The Boss I knew was never like this, I guess I misjudged him Tsukinaga.”

“Don’t come up with crazy accusations Tsukinaga! You too Kiryuu, I mean… I’m just being cautions. You just told me you never know when a spirit could be dangerous so- I didn’t think he'd cry so easily!”

The tiger's crying got a little louder and Leo and Kuro continued to stare at him expectantly.

Flustered, Keito took in a deep breath. “I-I suppose it wouldn't hurt if he stayed then, he seems harmless enough…”

“Oho?” Kuro raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Isn't that great Tetsu? Boss is weak to cute helpless yokai.”

“Shut up Kiryuu. I bet you planned for this to happen anyways.” The teen sat up in his futon to face the begging yokai. “I’m gonna lecture those two idiots later for this but I might have a spare room you can use Nagumo. Just make sure to behave yourself or I’m kicking you out, you hear?”

Tetora lifted a paw up to look at Keito, his naïve eyes sparkling with childish delight. “R-really? Thank you so much-ssu! I’m eternally grateful-ssu!!”

A wave of relief filled the room as the tiger cub started bowing his head more and crying. Keito could only stare in awe as the other yokai in the room congratulated Tetora with cheers and pats on the head. To think there was someone out there scared of these dunces...

That wasn’t to say those fears were invalid though. Keito’s read countless stories, fact or fiction, where spirits would torment whoever they wanted for the pure entertainment. ‘Not all yokai were friendly,’ a voice echoed in his head and he agreed, some could look completely harmless but turn out to be dangerous.

Even so, as he watched the yokai in the room play together he thought maybe trusting his regalia and friend’s judgement shouldn't be too hard. There was no way they would let someone dangerous near him, right? That’s why they brought the small tiger here. Kuro is probably the scariest yokai anyone could meet. It was a good thing Keito was friends with him, had they met under different circumstances maybe he would’ve been gobbled up by him.

“ _Ya_! Now we can add another member to our haunting group!” Leo ran behind Keito to lean over his shoulders. The other two yokai were lying on the floor exhausted from celebrating while Kuro wiped up any spilled water around Souma's basin. Keito was about to shake the bow off before Leo whispered something in his ears. His voice was low, so he had to strain his ears to catch what the spirit said. When he finished whispering he felt a chill do down his spine.

 _“If you ever get scared you can always use me to kill them_ _.”_

Keito felt his throat tighten, “What do you mean by that?”

Leo hopped off his back and gave him a knowing grin. “Not _them_ of course, but I thought you needed some reassurance should the time come you use me. Just because me and Kuro are here doesn’t mean you’re completely safe...”

Keito was quiet as he watched Leo run back to the other three yokai, the spirit joking about what they were going to have for dinner. Tetora started hissing when Leo held out a carrot to him while Kuro was trying to keep Souma from tipping over the bowl he was swimming in.

Kill. Could Leo do that?

From the way he said it, it sounded like Leo was implying there'll be a time where he’ll have to use the yumi to defend himself. Keito was no stranger to archery but the thought of actually shooting someone, or something made his stomach churn.

Kill was a powerful word after all.

Brushing the thought aside, he had to focus on a few things that’s been bothering him since his ‘sight’ came back. Other than the four yokai in the room the entire temple has only gotten louder. And by the looks of it will continue to get noisier. Keito stared at the pile of books he took from storage sitting on his desk. There were a few notes he made earlier that listed a few the things he needed to check. Drawings of a paper ball and a blossoming sakura tree were among them.

“Boss do you want to come and help make dinner?”

Kuro had gotten up and was standing in the doorway with Souma in his right hand and grocery bags in his left. His eyes moved to Tetora who was curled up on his futon, eyes drowsily watching the curtain of rain fall outside.

“I’m going to stay here with Nagumo so I can work on something, you can go make something with Tsukinaga and the turtle.”

The oni looked like he wanted to say something but stopped himself before he could open his mouth. “Don’t fall asleep at your desk, dinner should be ready soon.”

“What are you, my mother?”

“Considering how old I am, I probably could be.” Kuro grinned and Keito watched him leave the room, the excited whispers from Leo and turtle disappeared down the hall.

‘Now then,’ Keito reached for the first book on top of his desk. ‘Time to get to work.’

 

* * *

 

 _‘Mom where are you_ _?’_

It was quiet. Bright orange eyes peeked out from their hiding space. Night time was a mix of deep blues and greens in the rain forest. And although the moon was covered by trees, those amber eyes could make out shallow footprints left in the dirt. The spot next to him was cold, the soil damp with the smell of crushed up flowers and freshly made mud.

He took a deep breath. The smell of his mother was mixed into the floor. Her tracks methodical and twisted, it was different from when they stalked their normal prey. 

The smell continued outside their home towards a grouping of trees. His fuzzy ears could pick up the soft rustling of the canopy above him, but everything else around the area felt hard. A soft whimper escaped his throat before he could stop it, the sound strangled his throat like a vine. ‘She said she would be back soon.’ and 'Where is she?' was repeated over and over inside his head.

The cub mustered up all the courage he had and bravely left the safety of his home. Every time he took a step the ground beneath him began to sink, mud and water sloshed around making it hard for him to not fall. Bugs and other tropical birds watched him from safe perches. A small, scared child looking for his parent alone. They chattered to themselves noisily, but not loud enough where he could hear them.

Rain had already collected in the footprints he was following now, making every step he took messy and staining his velvety coat with umber. Small leaves and twigs that fell from the canopy above poked the soft skin of his paws painfully. The footsteps he followed became deeper, water reaching up to his knees. Each step getting further away from the previous one, as if whoever left them began to sprint.

The water was soaking his stomach when he finally reached a clearing. But besides the footprints the tiger was following there were a new set that came up behind them. A stranger set.

Something snapped behind him but before he could turn around there was a roar.

‘Get away from here ------! Leave before they catch you too-!’

 

* * *

 

Keito was jerked from his desk as if someone grabbed him. He knocked over the tiny bell keychain Leo left besides him in the process and had to blink a few times before steadying himself. The teen let his eyes slowly adjust to the dark room. The empty notebook he opened earlier was lying in front of him– an imprint left on his right cheek.

‘Ugh, I must’ve fallen asleep again...’ The teen rubbed his face. Kiryuu was going to scold him for that.

He looked down to see Tetora at his feet. The small yokai was still curled up in a ball fast asleep, he seemed to have dragged the blanket with him to make a little nest beneath his chair. When Keito looked at the clock he noticed only ten minutes had passed since Kuro left. ‘Guess I’m safe.’

The sun had completely set by now but it was still raining outside. His heart was still racing. It was that feeling again. The strange feeling that the dream he had belonged to somebody else.

The green-haired teen was brought out of his thoughts when the tiger let out a quivering whine. Yellow-green eyes turned down to the yokai again. He looked like he was having a bad dream too. 'The same as me.' Reaching down he picked the cub up and placed him on his lap. Tetora was still shaking when he nuzzled into his stomach but when he began to stroke the soft white fur he calmed down. He almost laughed at how simple he was.

Keito was about to turn on his desk light when his phone vibrated. It was text from Kuro stating dinner was almost ready. Sighing, the high schooler stopped petting the tiger and tried shaking him awake. “C’mon Nagumo, Kiryuu needs us.”

The fuzzy yokai started mumbling something Keito couldn’t hear, but he carried the tiger out of the room anyways. “Okay mom, I’m up–I’m up…”

“Did you say something Nagumo?”

Tetora had a small smile on his face as Keito walked down the hall. His amber eyes remained close as he peacefully listened to the rain hit the roof. “Nothing, I’m just glad to be safe-ssu~.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like it's going to be a trend where I hit chapter 3 and updates start getting longer... it might be a good thing if you like longer ones so hopefully that's the case. (Maybe I should try writing oneshots)
> 
> Anyways, I'm going to stop here until I update my other fic so thanks for sticking with me once again. This fic is turning out to be a challenge because it gives me a chance to try different things then my usual 'cute' writing. I also feel like I still don't know Keito well enough but I hope to learn as I go. 
> 
> I have so much planned I'm worried I can't fit it all in *excited motions*. I hope glasses will forgive me ;w;


	4. The Morose Glacier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How much candy could you buy with gold?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I typed this in 2 days.

Keito closed the screen door behind him with Tetora nestled in his arms. It was almost dinner time, and after he got a text from Kuro, accompanied by many cute emoticons of a smiley face holding a frying pan, the green-haired teen took it upon himself to leave his room. After a deep breath of cool air he took a moment to watch the raindrops bounce off the hydrangea flowers in the garden.

The air outside was always fresh and clean around this time, and the sound of falling rain only made it better. With all the recent chaos happening around the teen, Keito had to learn to take advantage of whatever peace he could get. And this was certainly it.

The sun had already long set over the ocean in the distance, but the remaining light lingered for a good half hour after it was gone. Light purples and blues swirled over the remnants of oranges and yellows that trailed behind the horizon, creating the perfect picture of twilight. Since the temple was nestled comfortably in the mountains, Keito was treated to this view almost every day. He looked down hoping Tetora was awake so he could enjoy the evening sky with him, but the little tiger began cuddling up  to his chest fast asleep. Well, maybe he could wait until tomorrow then.

Before he left his room Keito pocketed his phone, Leo’s keychain and when he glanced down at the floor, he saw a bag from the supermarket that had a bunch of candies handed out to him as samples. After a few seconds of debating to himself, he reached down to grab a handful of them. He could share them with Kuro and the other two yokai after dinner. Actually, shouldn't Kuro technically be considered as one of the yokai now too? Keito was never going to get used to this.

There were a few books under his desk that somehow tumbled off their shelf when he was jerked awake. But with the smell of dinner down the hall, Keito decided cleaning could wait. Plus, he could hear Tetora’s stomach growl, and the high schooler didn’t want a hungry tiger roaming sacred grounds anytime soon.

The hallway was a bit dark, so Keito tried reaching for the light switch before realizing he still had the fuzzy yokai in his hands. Sighing, he decided to walk in the dark.

‘It’s fine, I’ve been down this hall so many times I could do it blindfolded.’ He shifted Tetora a bit so his tail would stop tickling his leg every time he took a step forward. It was one of the few places in the temple where the walls were mostly screen doors. On clearer nights when the moon began to rise, the thin paper screens could illuminate the lower half of the walkway. But since it was raining it was pitch black.

The teen was about to round the corner to the main hall where the kitchen was when he was greeted by- 

-the same hallway?

“Oh gods.” Keito whispered out loud. He nudged the yokai in his arms to see if Tetora would wake up, but the tiger stayed fast asleep. Taking a moment to compose himself, Keito pinched his arm to check if he was dreaming and took a nervous breath when he saw a splotch of pink form.

‘It’s okay. It’s okay.” The teen reassured himself as he moved forward again. The wood creaked underneath his feet, and the cool, misty breeze coming down the hall helped him move at a steady pace. ‘I’m probably just imagining things.’ 

He reached the corner where it turns into the main hall and shut his eyes. He waits a few seconds while listening to the rain falling outside before opening them again to see- 

-he’s standing in the same hallway again.

Incorrigible. Keito could not believe this. Why the heck was he in the same hall again? He turns around to look behind him and sees there’s a long hallway behind him now. His room and garden were nowhere to be seen. It was just pitch, black darkness.

Oh no.

Keito groans and knocks his head against a screen. He made a mistake. Usually in stories like these, if someone finds themselves going down the same path over and over they aren’t supposed to look behind them or they risk getting trapped in that area forever.

Pale yellow-green eyes faced forward tiredly. Not only was the corner he was supposed to go gone now, but he was stuck in one really, really long hallway. From one end to the other it was dark. The only thing that was familiar was the sound of rain hitting the ground outside and the shiny floorboards beneath him.

Tapping his toes against the floor, he took in a deep breath and started sprinting. He could feel how clammy his feet were against the wood and the misty breeze turning into warm drops on his face. What became weird was as he sped by the shoji screens they began to light up.

There were colors beginning to dance behind the paper like a cladiscope. Reds, greens, yellows, blues swirled into each other and blended into the paper like ink. On one end he saw colors take on a crystal pattern while on the other they became flowers and children's toys. They fluttered like sakura petals and made him dizzy like spinning tops. When he looked down there were animals, rabbits or cats, running by his feet in a race to see who could reach the end of the hallway first.

When Keito stopped running after what felt like ten minutes, the colors and animals vanished completely. The hall returned back to its normal state, and the only thing he could hear now was the rain and his own breathing.

Tetora was fully awake now. After being shaken so much from running, Keito would be surprised if the tiger managed to stay asleep. Tetora’s ears began flicking in all directions, and his nose sniffed the air trying to figure out where he was.

“Hasumi-sama, where are we?” Large amber eyes faced the teen and saw he was trying to wipe the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. It was getting late and the smell of dinner lingering in the air was absolutely torturous. Keito was going to (lightly) punch Kuro for making curry tonight.

“I don’t know, but right now we seem to be trapped in this hallway. Do you think you can find a way out for us?” Keito put the tiger down so he could sit down and take a break. Tetora nodded excitedly and bounded down the hall for a few seconds before he came running back up confused.

“Uhhh, wait. Let me try that again-ssu.” The green-haired teen watched the tiger dash back into the darkness before he showed up beside him again.

“Uwah… that's strange.” He repeated it four more times until the cub came padding back somberly.

“I-I’m sorry-ssu. I couldn’t find a way out...” Tetora stared up at Keito with teary eyes. Feeling bad, Keito bent over so he could scratch the cub behind his ears, listening to him purr.

“It’s alright, you did good Nagumo.” He ruffled the soft black and white fur on the cubs head before standing straight up. “Let’s try walking down together then. Help me find anything that sticks out from usual. That might be the key to getting us out of here.”

The tiger made a noise in agreement and the two were about to walk down the hallway again when a door to their right began sliding open.

Jumping back, Keito and Tetora looked at the light shining from the doorway before staring at each other in confusion. This stuck out from usual. Keito mustered up whatever courage he had left and peeked into the doorway. To his surprise he sees a room he didn’t know existed in front of him.

The tatami mats were just like the ones in his room, but instead of a pale green they were a light brown. They also seemed to be a lot older. The walls were reminiscent of a tea ceremony room, but instead of the traditional decorations, there were a bunch of protection charms grouped together to make a mural. A blank scroll hung behind them as well.

Keito could also see a glass wind chime in the shape of a cat hanging at the far corner of the room and raised an eyebrow. He knew it was summer, but it was strange to see a magenta cat for sale in stores, much less dangling in a traditional type room.

Tetora jumped when he heard a thunk come from inside the room and darted to hide behind Keito’s legs. He began hissing at the noise but stopped when Keito gave him a stern look.

The human stuck his head out more this time to see there was a black-haired boy sitting in the room as well. He narrowed his eyes to get a closer look, but the boy seemed rather familiar. For some reason the green-haired teen suddenly remembered the books he left on the floor of his room. One was a yearbook and it was opened on a page of his younger classmen. Could it be?

He did his best to run through all the students he could remember before realizing who the boy was. It didn’t take long for Keito to remember the boy was a friend of a student council member he was close with. Hidaka Hokuto.

Feeling a little better that it wasn’t a stranger, Keito was going to confront the boy until Tetora scrambled past him and stood, fangs bared, in front of the teen. “Who are you and what are you doing here!?” the cub did his best to growl threateningly.

Keito felt his heart squeeze when he saw Tetora trying to stand up to the stranger and immediately rushed to stand behind him. Icy blue eyes paid no attention to the ‘fierce’ tiger cub growling straight at him (it was the thought that counts) but he looked up when Keito cleared his throat loudly.

“I’d like to ask the same as well. What are you doing in my house?” the older teen asked.

Hokuto stared back at the white tiger and then at Keito before making an ‘o’ with his mouth. He placed the tea cup he had in his hands on the table and turned to face the older teen to bow.  “I’m sorry for ignoring you but I am Hidaka Hokuto, the master of this room. I wasn’t expecting a human and a cat to be my next customers so I didn’t think you could even see me.”

“Don’t call me a cat-ssu!”

Master? Customers? If Keito had a few questions running through his head that would be the biggest understatement of the century. The tone in the younger boy’s voice was flat, but he remained in the same hunched position waiting. There was no way the upperclassman could deny the apology wasn’t genuine, so Keito did the most normal thing in response and just stood there.

“Uhm, its fine I guess, but we’re still in my house, right?” Good job Keito. We’re off to a great start. “What are you even doing in here? Are you a yokai too?”

Hokuto tilted his head up with a confused expression on his face. “Not... really?”

The bell in the room jingled and all eyes briefly turned to the small glass cat swaying from the ceiling.

“I’m a human.” Hokuto continued. The morose look in his glacier eyes were cold but his deep voice brought Keito and the tiger’s attention back towards him from the moving bell. He sat in a kneeling position and adjusted the dark blue haori over his shoulders before staring straight in to Keito’s eyes. “It’s the room that’s a yokai.”

 _The room_?

Ahhh, he thought after the first time it happened he wouldn’t be surprised anymore. First he finds out his best friend is an oni, and then the bow he takes care of is some kind of weirdo baby... But now he has to deal with some kind of monster room? Someone should just tell him his glasses were a yokai too. (a/n: they’re not.)

“I’m going to make this easier for the both of us.” The upperclassman points to Tetora who was still hissing in defense mode. “This… is a yokai.”

Hokuto nods his head.

“You’re telling me this...” He motions to the entire room, “Is also a yokai?”

“That is correct.”

“Incorrigible.” Keito rubs his face in disbelief. Tetora stops growling and pads over to the green-haired teen and nuzzles his legs reassuringly. The older teen bent over so he could scratch behind the tiger’s ear again. He earned the soft purr he loved so much in return.

“Now that we’re glad we got that out of the way, would you two like to have some tea?” Hokuto turns his head to the low table with a teapot resting on it. “I think it’d be better to converse once we all calm down.”

“Thanks.” Keito moves to sit across his underclassman with Tetora beside him. The tiger began swatting at the dessert utensils before receiving a warning glare from Keito to behave. “I’ve just been through a living nightmare so I probably sounded hostile. But if you’re a human, why do you dress like that?”

Hokuto finishes pouring green tea into Keito’s cup before handing it to him. “You can see them right? I think of it as a formality when I work with them. I don’t exactly wear my school uniform all the time.”

“That’s the reason?” The older teen takes a sip from his cup and chokes when he almost burns his tongue. Tetora licks into the bowl Hokuto laid out for him too and scrunches his face at the bitterness.

“So, I’m guessing from your reaction to me being here you two don’t need to go to the spirit world?” Hokuto refills the teapot with more water and sets it aside to brew. “It’s rare enough a human comes to ask for my services, but you don’t seem like you’re used to this kind of stuff yet.”

Keito took a long sip from his cup and almost spits it out when he heard the word spirit world. He grabs a napkin from the table to wipe his mouth immediately. “W-what? Why would I- No. I just wanted to go to my kitchen and eat! Right Nagumo?”

“Ossu!” Tetora wagged his tail happily when Hokuto passed him a dessert that looked like a milk pudding. “After I eat this, okay?”

“That’s fine. It’ll cost three ryo to take you to your kitchen.”

Keito looks at Hokuto like he grew three heads. “Three what?”

“Three ryo,” the black-haired teen held up an oval piece of gold and slid it over to Keito. “Didn’t anyone tell you about it? You should know this especially if you keep  _him_ around.”

They turned to the tiger who was happily stuffing his face with pudding. “By the way, at his size his fur is worth two million ryo.” Keito almost spat out his tea again. “...if you were curious.”

“I just met him today, I’m not selling him.” Keito wiped his mouth again and put the teacup down. He was going to break it if he kept getting surprised like this. “Also, why do I have to pay to go to a room in my family’s temple?”

Hokuto frowned. “If you don’t pay then I’m afraid I can’t take you there.”

“Your room is the reason why I can’t go through a hall and you’re charging me?”

The younger teen sighed and brought out a pad of paper. He scribbled something that looked like a contract and maybe an iou at the bottom. “Then do you have something else worth the exchange? Don’t worry, I don’t want the tiger.”

Again, he was getting vague explanations. Did he even have something equivalent to gold on him? Keito dug through his pockets and placed whatever he found on the table. The little keychain he bought earlier used the remaining amount of yen he left from his shopping trip. There was no way he had actual money to use.

Keito was surprised when he watched blue eyes glance over the objects and widened exponentially. “Wait. What is this?”

“You can’t take my phone.” Keito stared at the younger boy with a deadpan expression.

“No.” Hokuto points toward the handful of candy Keito grabbed earlier. “This. Is this.  _Konpeito_?”

“Wha-?” The green-haired teen picks up the tiny package with an orange ribbon tied around the top and examined it. It  _was_  konpeito. About ten or twenty little stars colored with red and blue dye sat in the bag. Among them were a few that looked pure gold, and it was amazing to look at in the light. If Keito remembered properly, it was a special, limited edition assortment for the upcoming festival season. Or so he was told by the lady who was handing them out.

“Yeah, I got this as a promotion when I went shopping today. I don’t this would be enough though-?”

“That’s more than enough!” Brilliant blue eyes sparkled excitedly like a child. Keito would've been taken aback by how enthusiastic the other boy was acting if it wasn’t for the stroke of luck he just had. Keito was so happy Hokuto wasn’t going to kick him and Tetora out into that looping hallway again. Thank you gods for making him go down to the supermarket to buy more food for Leo. 

Hokuto suddenly stopped when he realized he was leaning both his hands on the table from being too excited and sat down to regain his composure. Clearing his throat he crossed his arms firmly before taking a sip of tea and speaking. “I mean. That should be enough to cover the fee so please wait one second.”

Keito almost jumped when he handed the bag to Hokuto and the door to the ‘tea’ room slid opened. He had to blink a few times before he noticed it was the entrance to the main hall standing before him. “How-” 

“That should lead you to where you want to go.” Hokuto had already opened the bag of candy and was blissfully munching on the sugary stars with the innocence of a child. “Thank you for your patronage.”

“This is great-ssu! We can eat dinner and see Taisho!” Tetora skipped to the door and stood in the hallway. “I want extra meat in my curry Hasumi-sama!”

“Alright.” Keito followed after the cub, but not before turning around to say goodbye to Hokuto. “Thank you for bringing us back.”

Hokuto nodded when Keito stood in the doorway and waved goodbye. Right when Keito was about to close the door he thought heard the younger teen begin talking to himself.

“...You never told me this was his home?”

“Well it’s good we were able to get them out-”

“This has been happening more recently as of late-”

“...need to find our client and apologize to them.”

“ _Don’t be silly, it’s because I do this I have no time to buy any Isar-_ ”

And within the chime of a bell the door was gone.

“Curry~♪! Curry~♪!” Keito heard Tetora singing some kind of curry song as he ran ahead of him.

Hearing the sound of the little cub skipping down the hall Leo poked his head from the kitchen door and smiled when he saw Tetora rushing towards him. “Oi Tetora! What took you guys so long? Kuro’s been calling ya for the last five minutes!”

The bow picks up the tiger who has, food? All over his face, and sees Keito standing in front of the wall. “Hey, glasses. That wall isn’t going anywhere but your food will if ya don’t get over here.”

Keito felt like he was snapped out a trance when he heard the bow’s voice. “What did you say about my glasses, you bastard?”

Leo stuck his tongue out when Keito turned around to see the yokai holding Tetora and a vegetable peeler. The tiger looked like he was trying to dodge the carrot ribbon in Leo’s hand and visibly cringed when it touched his nose.

“Over here, over here.” Leo motioned for Keito to come into the kitchen and disappeared around the corner.

Keito followed the orange-haired yokai and saw Kuro standing in front of the sink with the water running. He was washing all the vegetables the teen bought earlier and putting them in a basin when he was done. There was a lid covering the pot on the stove, most likely holding their dinner, which rattled and had steam escaping from it making the smell curry fill the air. When Leo ran over to open it Kuro whacked his hand away with a carrot.

“Oooohhh! Hasumi-dono! We’re having curry tonight!!” The little turtle Kuro brought with him to the kitchen yelled from the basin he was treading water in. His stubby legs kept him afloat next to a bunch of lettuce and green onion.

“Kanzaki has been helping me out.” Kuro finished washing a tomato and brought out a cutting board to begin chopping. “I figured I might’as well start preppin’ tomorrow's breakfast since you were takin’ so long, but now that you’re  here we can eat.”

“Kiryuu-dono is going to make tamagoyaki for breakfast tomorrow! He said I could help break the eggs!”

‘How are you going to break them if they’re half your size?’ Keito stared at the happy, smiling turtle floating in the bowl before reaching to grab plates from the dishrack. The rice was already done so he handed the rice paddle over to Leo so he could scoop out the fluffy white grains onto the plates for him.

“So, what took you so long, boss?” Kuro wasn’t looking at him as he spun  the curry in the pot with a large ladle before scooping it out.

The tiger pacing around his feet started shaking excitedly when Leo held two plates in his hands and headed to the dining room.

“I got stuck in the hallway.” Keito answered honestly. He watched Leo almost trip over Tetora’s tail and started laughing with the tiger at his clumsiness. Maybe Kuro could tell him what that whole ideal was about because it seemed like the yokai room saved him from it. “If it wasn’t for Hidaka and his mononokean I think I would’ve been trapped there with Nagumo.”

“The hallway trapped you?” The red-headed teen furrowed his eyebrows before scooping another ladle of curry onto his plate. He picked up the turtle who was now upside-down in the bowl from splashing too much and placed him back on his stomach. The little white bow tied around his head ducked under water to give him and Keito some privacy, or maybe it was to eat the loose bits of veggies floating around the bowl.

“That’s weird, all I know is you met the guy who can get you to school if your runnin’ late. Kinda pricey though.”

Yellow-green eyes narrowed at taller boy.

“What? I had to get to school on time.” The red-haired oni raised his arms defensively. He was almost out the door to the kitchen when he noticed Keito was still standing in front of the stove holding his plate of rice.

“Is konpeito worth that much to yokai?” Kuro heard Keito mumble to the pot of curry and laughed at his confusion.

“I don’t think candy will ever be worth that much gold boss.”

Keito sighed and poured some curry over his rice so he could go to the table and eat. “You’re right. What was I thinking-I must’ve just got lucky...”

“Look on the bright side.” Kuro reached his arm towards the counter to scoop up the turtle from the water basin and rubbed his head making Souma chirp happily. “You’re outta that hall and made it back in time for dinner. Let’s consider this a win against the weird yokai stuff and eat, alright?”

“Okay.” The only human in the temple walked towards the table Leo set and sat down with four yokai currently residing at the temple. After two days into his summer break the residents at the Buddhist temple had already gone up by three. He looked at all the other empty seats in the dining room and then back to Kuro who was trying to help Tetora up in the chair next to him. Leo was staring at Keito with anticipation in his jade eyes, ready to dig in as soon as he was ready.

“Let’s eat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you excited for second season? Once I saw the va's for the main characters I thought it would be perfect. If you don't know what I'm talking about, its okay. I'm glad you came and checked out this new chapter even if it's been forever and a day.


	5. Light Pink Doll Tripper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No spoilers, but Happy Birthday Nee-chan.
> 
> You're beautiful.

“Dinner was good wasn’t it?”  

Leo was kneeling on the ground in the bathroom with Tetora at his feet. The small tiger had just finished getting a bath and was waiting impatiently for the orange haired yokai to finish drying him. “It’s been so long since I had food! I never knew rice could be cooked in such a convenient way. I like humans, no wait-I love them!”

“It would’ve been better if there weren’t so many carrots-ssu…”  Light yellow eyes peeked out from underneath the towel before they were hidden again. The tigers tiny paws were struggling to stay in place on the slippery floor but Leo paid no mind to them. “Since Taishou was there I didn’t want to look like a picky eater. Let me sneak some to you next time.”

“Don’t say that, carrots are good for you.” Leo made one final rub before sitting back on his heels. “Wait. Can tigers even eat carrots?” 

Tetora didn’t answer and immediately ran for the door while the bow was deep in thought. He almost tripped over his paws but he didn’t care, there was no way he wanted to stay in the bathroom any longer. Especially when there was still a large tub of water in it. “I don’t know. But I don’t like them. So give me meat instead! I’m still growing after all.” 

“Don’t get cheeky, you haven’t even been here that long. Well… neither have I, but I’m still your elder.” 

The tiger puffed his cheeks out childishly and huffed. He stood at the door and waited for Leo to stand up so he could let him out. 

Leo hung the towel he used over his arms and stretched out his legs. His green eyes looked around the bathroom marveling at the bits and pieces that were modernized. He was so used to bathing in the river or splashing water in a hot spring that the temple bathroom was something refreshing. So much could change in over a decade. 

He was about to stand up when he heard something clicking from outside the window. The glass was still foggy so he couldn’t get a good view who it was before it stopped. It wasn’t the same noise as the keychain Keito gave him that afternoon and it wasn’t the sound of Souma’s footsteps so he felt a little uneasy. It sounded a lot like a wooden wind-chime, and it came from the direction of the entrance to the temple. 

“What’s the matter-ssu?”  Tetora’s voice brought Leo's attention back to the towel in his hands. He loosened his grip on the cloth before turning to smile at the tiger.

“Nothing, I just thought I heard something." He reached into the tub so he could drain the water. "C’mon, let’s head back to Keito’s room. We’re the last ones to take a bath after all. ”

“O-ossu.” The tiger cub watched as the yumi opened the door and ran down the hall. “Ahh! Please wait for me! I don’t want to get left behind!” 

 

* * *

 

Keito kept taking small steps and it was making Kuro anxious. 

The two of them were walking around the temple  in a vain attempt to avoid whatever trapped the teen and tiger earlier that evening. And while the mountain was normally peaceful at night, ever since Keito’s 'sight' came back there were too many spirits popping up one after another. So Kuro was doing his best to stay alert.

“Hey boss, I know you wanted to go the long way ‘round ‘cause of that hall thing, but maybe you should stop slowin’ down? You’re makin’ Kanzaki restless.” 

“I know, but I can’t help it.” Keito sighed before reaching over to scratch the turtle sitting in Kuro’s hand on the head. “Talking animals and ‘human’ weapons… they’ve all been friendly up to this point, but I know that’s not going to be the case moving forward.” 

“Well if it makes you feel better, you have me and Tsukinaga to keep you safe.”  The red headed teen reassured.

Kuro was prepared for a lot of things related to the ‘other side.’ He’s lived with it all his life. But if there’s one thing that shocked him ever since he tried living like a normal person, it’ll be his first human friend actually had spiritual power sealed away when he was young and was awakening to them in the summer of their last year in high school. To say he was surprised was an understatement. 

He felt Keito pick up the chirping turtle yokai from his hand and the two began whispering about something he wasn’t paying attention to. Instead, Kuro settled for staring at the large sakura tree in front of him. It must've been a bad day for him.

“YES! I REMEMBER GOING THIS WAY BEFORE!” Souma’s voice cut through the courtyard excitedly. 

The ogre wasn’t going to admit he might have jumped. But he jumped.

“Kanzaki, your voice is really loud for being small.” Keito rubbed the turtle’s forehead in warning before looking in the direction Souma pointed at. “It must’ve taken you all night to get here. Why’d you come here before?” 

“IS IT? Oh, I mean. Is it?” the yokai was smiling wide eyed at the falling cherry blossoms. “My apologies then Hasumi-dono. Anywho, I came here because I wanted to admire the tree. It was a waste to not have seen it even though it's been here for a long time. So I resolved myself to the long journey!”

Keito stared at the light pink tree in front of the temple suspiciously. In the moonlight it looked almost white, ethereally glowing under the navy blue sky. 

“That sakura tree actually bothers me…” Keito shivered.

“Why is that boss?”

The green haired teen shrugged as he began walking back to his room. “It’s July. There shouldn't be blossoms around this time. Isn’t it normal to be bothered by something out of the ordinary?” 

“I don’t think we can use the word normal anymore.” Kuro almost laughed at the stink eye Keito gave him. He heard Kanzaki let out a disappointing sigh when the tree was out of sight. “But the tree’s harmless. What should _really_ bother you are its guards.” 

Keito thought his head would fly off with how fast he turned it. “There are guards for it? Why-” 

“Ahh, look at this mess.” The ogre cut the teen off before stretching his arms over his head to distract him. The sooner they get into Keito’s room the more he won't have to explain. “Kanzaki, wanna help me clean this?” 

“I’D LOVE TO, BUT I DON’T HAVE ANY ARMS!” 

Pinching his nose Keito put the disturbing thought of a yokai lurking around the tree at the back of his head and stepped into his room. He could’ve sworn he closed the door when he left for dinner, but for some reason it looked like a typhoon came through and knocked everything out of place. 

Besides a few sketchbooks and photo albums already on the floor, the books he had stacked on top of his desk had toppled over and loose sheets of paper were scattered across the ground. Pens and pencils were hiding under the chairs and his drawers were all slightly askew. If someone told him he’d been robbed he would've believed them in an instant.

As Keito began picking up his books Kuro noticed a small notepad lying under the chair that had a few scribbles in them.

He was was about to reach for it until he heard two pairs of footsteps rushing down the hall. Kuro turned around just in time to see a giant puffball and Leo come flying into the room, landing on their stomachs in a pile of giggles. 

“What were you two doing?” The ogre had to bite back a smile when he saw how awful the tiger Leo looked. The bow's bright orange hair was sticking to his face and the tiger was equally a mess of tangled fur. They both were dripping water onto the floor creating a small puddle beneath them.

Leo had to catch his breath before he picked up Tetora by the collar and explained. “We were racing. Who won? Was it me?” 

The bow smirked down at the tiger. “I bet it was me.” 

“Heeh? I don’t think so-ssu!” Tetora hissed. “The winner was me, tell him Taishou!”

“I wasn’t payin’ attention so let’s call it a tie." Kuro started to dig around for a towel the two could use. "You also better keep it down or boss is gonna lecture yah for bein’ too loud.”

“I’ll lecture them anyways,” Keito finished stacking his books and glared at the bow and striped cat. “You two didn’t dry your hair properly and now you’re dripping water all over the place. You got some nerve to be running around the temple like a couple of mops.”

“I’m not a mop!” Tetora swung his tail defiantly. Flicking water onto the paper screen behind him and making an even bigger mess. “Besides, we’re only running because Leo-san heard something near the bathroom. It’s natural instinct!”

“You heard something?” Kuro noticed Keito's expression turned worried instead of annoyed now. “Did you get to see it?”

Tetora’s ears tilted downwards. “No. I was only focused on running.”

“That’s no good.” the ogre crossed his arms. “It’s only been a couple of days since boss and Tsukinaga ‘woke up.’ I don’t want anyone causin’ trouble here already.”

“We should be fine. Even if someone wanted to mess with us they did a horrible job hiding themselves. They sounded like they were banging two pieces of wood together.” Leo was drying his hair with a towel Kuro handed to him earlier. “We can take’em, partner!”

“Who are you calling partner? ” If Keito didn’t have a pencil over his ear he might have looked threatening. The room got quiet save for the sound of Leo’s keychain getting swat across the tatami by Tetora.

“Well, if it wasn’t malicious then let’s ignore it for now.” Kuro moved Souma who was on the floor onto Keito’s desk so the tiger yokai won’t whack him by accident. “Which reminds me, we have to introduce boss to all the current residents he hasn't met. Let's show him and Tsukinaga where everyone is tomorrow. We might even run into the guy you two heard.”

Leo pouted. “Who? Tell me! It’s not like I don’t know anyone here.”

The orange haired yokai brought a hand to his chin in thought. “But then again, I _was_ locked in that storage room for a while so maybe everyone moved out or forgot me. Aaagghhh! So much has changed since I was gone!”

“Not much unfortunately,” the ogre shook his head exasperatedly. “Anyways, now that we fixed up this place what should we do now? Boss likes to go to sleep early so maybe we should start getting ready for bed?”

“Ehhhh!? But I wanted to play more!” Tetora whined. He ran towards Keito almost tripping over his tail in the process. “Can we stay up a bit more? I wanna watch a movie with everyone!”

Keito looked at the clock on his desk and saw it was almost ten. Were they really cleaning for that long? “By the time you finish a movie it’ll be midnight. You’re going to bed.”

The teen ignored the complaints coming from the tiger, and annoyingly enough Leo, before getting up to leave his room again. If he did recall, there were a bunch of spare futon's they could use in the storage room.

“You goin’ somewhere boss?” He didn’t know Kuro was right behind him when he turned the corner and the green haired teen almost jumped up in surprise.

“Y-yeah. I was going to go to the storage room to get some extra beds.” Keito let out the breath he was holding. His heart was thumping a million times faster than usual. There was no way he was going to tell Kuro he scared him just now.  Straightening up his back he turned around to face the taller yokai and crossed his arms, doing his best to look calm.

The ogre stared at the human for a few seconds before his yellow-green eyes lit up with mischief. “Don’t tell me I spooked yah boss, you know I won’t do anythin’ that’ll hurt yah.”

“That may be true, but you still have that irritating grin on your face.”

“But that’s just how I look?” 

“Incorrigible.” Keito huffed. “Go back to my room and watch those guys. I don’t trust them to be alone with my stuff.”

It was Kuro’s turn to look worried. “But don’t yah need help carryin’ the blankets? I don’t want yah to crash into somethin’.”

“I’ve done this a million times before.” The green haired teen shook his head. “How hard could it be to carry a blanket big enough for a bow and kitten? Besides, your bed is already folded up in the room over. Which reminds me, they’re sleeping with _you_ tonight.”

“You mine as well tell me I’m not gonna get any sleep then.” Kuro laughed. “Okay fine. I’ll make sure they don’t cause trouble. It’s not like they’ll burn the place down or anything...”

The ogre paused to think for a bit. “Scratch that. I know someone who can. I need to go talk to them before they do that, see yah later boss.”

Keito watched the taller teen go briskly down the hall before turning the corner and disappearing from view.

How was a bow, tiger and turtle going to burn down the temple? Keito made it to the storage room and found a small futon that was paired with a pretty light green and yellow blanket. The room was a bit dark, but he was still able to see thanks to the small lantern dangling near the doorway and the bright moonlight shining through the high window.

He glanced over the large stacks of blankets and pillows one more time and sighed. There really were a lot of spare futons. Even if they had enough people (o yokai) to use them there might now be enough room for them in the spare rooms. Much less keep them maintained. Keito guessed he could get Kuro to come back with him tomorrow so they could do laundry and air them out in the sun. The thought of Leo and Tetora helping with the chores made the teen smile to himself fondly. He was glad that he had company over summer break after all.

Which reminded him. He had to patch up that hole Kanzaki made in his screen door or else a draft could come through.

Keito was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice the strange, chilling feeling of something hovering over his feet. He was out in the open night air when the hovering sensation transformed into a grip that wrapped around his ankles to trip him and make him come crashing down.

“What the-!” Luckily the futon Keito was carrying cushioned his fall, but with his glasses askew on his face the teen couldn’t make out the large black shadow looming over him. Wiggling insistently like a snake.

He could sure hear it though.

Its heavy, gasping breath ruptured his ears, and there was something slithering on the ground that Keito soon learned was long, black hair. The grip on his ankles tightened, the frayed length of hair dug into his skin and before he could adjust to the darkness a glint of sharp rotting teeth reflected the moonlight.

“A... meal…”

Keito’s yellow-green eyes widened in panic. He frantically looked towards the screen doors to his left but saw the lights to his room were off. The garden to his right was just as empty. The sound of gently flowing water mirrored the frantic beating in his chest.

Oh no.

He kicked his legs but ultimately got tangled more in the threads. The creatures mouth was clamping open and close. This yokai, no, this _monster_ was out for food. And no one was around to help him. He was on his own.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve eaten someone who can see me…” The yokai's raspy voice choked out. “It was worth waiting for that ogre and bow to leave so I can get you alone.”

“Let go of me!” Keito could barely hear his voice because of the loud cackling the creature was making. How could he have been caught off guard like this? It was only the third day and things were going to hell. Was this his punishment for being too confident and not letting Kuro come with him to the store room?

He clenched his fingers into a fist.

Keito struggled as much as he could, but stopped when he heard the clacking of wood together. The hissing from the women-like creature didn’t deter him from sitting up. Keito dodged the sharp teeth in time so he could glance under the tattered kimono and saw a pair of wooden geta walking towards them. For some reason, the thing Leo said earlier that night echoed in his ears, but it came out like a garbled mess.

“Who-?” It was over as quickly as it started. Keito couldn’t even blink when the monster turned around to see who was interrupting it’s meal, only for a well-manicured hand to grab it’s face and slam it into the floor.

If Keito’s eyes didn’t pop out of his head they sure did now.

Slim fingers dug into its mottled skin with nothing but beauty and threw the entire spirit into the screen door of Keito’s room. Wood and paper flew everywhere but that didn’t deter the stranger because they proceeded to crush the monsters entire skull into the fragmented door with the splendor of a refined dance.

Keito’s savior wore a heavy kimono. He could count, three. No, five? Seven? _Twelve_ layers of red and pink fabric that draped over the figure with finesse. Honestly, whoever saved him was scarier than the monster because the spirit that just attacked him had evaporated into the wind after being thrown into the ground. There wasn’t even a single strand of hair left behind.

“Oh dear, she got my sleeves all dirty.” The bewildered teen had to clean his glasses so he could get a better look at the person standing in front of him. Their back was straight and poised as if they didn’t just slam someone into the dirt and vaporized them.  Plus, if someone were to ask him what his savior looked like the first thing that came to mind was a girl’s day doll.

“Are you okay? She didn’t hurt you too bad right?” Keito was speechless when the ‘doll’ kneeled down to help him up.

Beautiful. If it wasn’t the red lipstick that was painted across their lips it was the messy, golden blond hair falling in front of their forehead. Bright, violet eyes peered down at Keito curiously and the first thing that he could say to them was an intelligent. “Uhhhh.”

He almost forgot to reach out for the others hand because he felt like he was transported into some kind of fantasy manga. One where a yamato nadeshiko could whip butt and look great while doing it. It took a few seconds to recompose himself but he eventually was back on his feet. But there was something he noted about the manicured hands that just helped him up. They seemed a little, rough? Before he could dwell on the thought anymore the gate to the garden flew wide open and Keito could hear three pairs of footsteps echo on the stone paved path.

“Boss! What happened!?”

“Hasumi-samaaaa!!”

“Keito! Are you okay!?”

“!!!”

Kuro was running toward Keito with Leo and Tetora trailing behind him. Souma was sitting in his bowl, but since they were running the water kept sloshing into his mouth so he couldn’t scream like usual. A blessing in its own right, because Keito wasn't sure how much screaming he could take right now.

“Don’t worry, everything has been taken care of.” The yamato nadeshiko spoke up. They pushed their blond hair back and smiled gently at the glasses teen before meeting eyes with Leo. Violet eyes lit up in excitement and Keito immediately wondered what their relationship was. “Oh, so it is true? Is that you Leo-san?”

The bow stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the pretty blond for five seconds. Another ten seconds. Fifteen. “Naru...? Are you really Naru!?”

“Yes~!”

“Naru!!!” The orange haired yokai dashed to the blond and wrapped his arms around all twelve layers of their kimono. “What happened? You used to be so tiny and now you’re like a ohinasama! I guess being sealed for ten years does make a difference.” 

“Mmhmm, I’ve been traveling around for the last decade! You won’t believe how hard it was just to get back here.”

“If it isn’t Narukami, how was your trip?” Kuro was by the dolls side examining the gold flowers on the pink and red kimono. “It must’ve taken years to make this many layers with the amount of detail on it. It’s a good thing you're stronger or else you won’t be able to walk in this.”

“Oh my, if you look at it that closely you’ll embarrass me Mr. Ogre.” The blond faced Keito who looked confused as to what was happening. “How are you doing Hasumi-sama? The last time I saw you, you were so little. I’m glad you grew up to be big and healthy. I see the glasses stayed too~.”

Keito blinked and looked around. There was no one else beside him that the doll was looking at so he felt nervous not knowing who this was. Tetora had hid under the wooden deck so he won’t be able to get any help from him, and all Kanzaki was doing was bobbing his head from the bowl he was floating in.  The fact Kiryuu knew who this person was made him even more anxious.

“Do I know you?”

Violet eyes blinked once before widening in the moonlight. “Ah! I must look different from the last time you seen me. My name is Narukami Arashi. Wait one moment, maybe this will help you remember who I am.”

The green haired teen watched as Arashi stepped onto the grass, took a deep breath and spun. It took less then second because there was puff of smoke, but instead of a full grown person standing where Arashi was there was a small kokeshi doll staring up at him.

Memories of a doll sitting near the temple steps on girls day and small hands picking it up to take home to clean it came flooding back almost immediately. Keito was five when he found the kokeshi and had his mother help him clean up the doll when he saw it had been damaged.

“I thought it was strange I kept finding you in different places all the time. So you were a yokai too?”

“Guilty as charged~♪” Arashi sang. “You were such a cute little kid, I was so happy when I found out you could see us. Those boys who left me on girl’s day took me from a display and dropped me down the stairs. Can you believe that!? I thought I was going to die! But I was able to get better after you fixed me. So thank you very much for that Hasumi-sama.”

The kokeshi hopped up onto the wooden walkway and shuffled towards Keito’s room. “I’m sorry about the mess I made in your home though. To think this is how I will repay you after all you’ve done for me.” All eyes turned to the collapsed door and shreds of paper on the floor. “Whenever I saw scary yokai bullying others on my trip I get a little protective. But if talking doesn’t work I have no other choice but to resort to one hit. We yokai are supposed to live in harmony with humans after all.”

“One hit huh...” Kuro scratched his head and assessed the damage. “Somehow I think it might’ve been more than that.”

He turned towards Keito and saw the shorter teen was as pale as a sheet when he realized his room was practically uninhabitable for the night. “I guess we all know what the plan is for tomorrow.” He pointed towards the room next to Keito’s that wasn’t hurt. “We can stay in the room boss lent me for tonight.”

The ogre cheekily grinned. “It’ll be like a slumber party!”

“Oooohhh, that sounds fun! Could I get a futon and join in too?” Arashi clapped his wooden sleeves together.

“Sure, boss told me the storage room is just down over there. Let me go get one for yah.”

“Yay!”

Keito watched as Tetora slowly came out of hiding to marvel at Arashi with sparkling orange eyes. The two were playing on the grass, Arashi throwing a stick despite his small physic and Tetora running to catch it.

“I’m not going to get any sleep, am I?” Keito asked no one in particular. He was about to collect the futon he dropped but Leo jumped onto his back to wrap his arms around his neck instead. “Hey, Tsukinaga I won’t be able to walk if you hang onto me like that-”

“I wasn’t careful enough.” Keito stopped lecturing when he heard the bow whisper quietly to him. “This isn’t the first, but the second time something happened to ya and I wasn’t there to help...”

Yellow-green eyes stared briefly at the small yokai before Keito reached his hand up to ruffled Leo’s hair tenderly. “It’s not your fault, it’s also mine for thinking I was safe when you guys warned me it was only going to get worse from now on.”

When he saw those watery green eyes stare at him in surprise he turned away slightly embarrassed. “Next time I’ll ask you or Kuro to come with me. So don’t blame yourself, okay?”

“Mmmm, okay.” Leo let go of his neck so he could plop back down on the ground to pick up the pillow and blanket Keito was going to grab. The glasses wearing teen thought he could see the silly grin the bow was hiding. “I’m guessing this is supposed to be for me?”

“Yeah, but if you don’t like it I can just ask Kiryuu to get you another one.”

The bow rested his chin on the cushiony blanket and laughed. “Nah, it’s perfect!” He traced the green and yellow pattern on the futon with his finger. “Uhh, this is a little embarrassing but you don’t mind if I sleep next to ya tonight, right?”

Keito sighed. “As annoying as you can be, go ahead.”

He watched the bow nod excitedly and rushed to Kuro’s room with vigor. Keito went to pick up the bowl Kanzaki was still treading water in and helped Tetora and Arashi onto the ledge of the house. Leo emerged again afterwards, futon set on the floor nearest the door. “C’mon Nagumo let’s go in before we catch a cold. Don’t think you can stay up any later too, my vision may be bad but I can still see you’re trying hard to stay awake.”

“But I’m not sleepy-ssu...”  The tiger cub stifled a yawn but ultimately padded over to Kuro’s futon so he could sleep at the foot of the bed. Right when the yokai curled up into a ball Kuro opened the sliding door with two futons in his arms.

“I got you an extra futon since yours is covered in wood shavings boss.” The red headed teen handed a dark green blanket to Keito and a light pink blanket to Arashi. The kokeshi had already poofed back into his larger form but was swallowed by the comfy futon and pillow anyway.

“Thank you Kiryuu.” Keito started setting up his bed and pointed to Leo who was having a hard time laying his blanket out nicely on his futon. “Could you help Tsukinaga with his though? I’m afraid he might fly away if he keeps throwing his blanket up like that.”

“Got it.”

“Oi…” Leo pouted at the ogre and the green haired teen. But ultimately he let Kuro help get his bed ready.

Keito turned around to see if Arashi needed help too but the doll had already finished wiping off his makeup and was now folding the t en layers of his kimono and placing them onto the side.

“I guess we should get into to bed then.” Kuro picked up the sleeping tiger at his foot and tucked him into a basket filled with soft blankets.  “We got a long day tomorrow.”

“Ehhh? But what about our slumber party?” Leo whined.

“It’s twelve Tsukinaga. We’re not doing anything but going to sleep.” Keito had already took off his glasses and had his eyes closed.

“Boo, what about you Naru? Don’t you want to stay up and talk?”

Arashi was already under the blanket when he shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I think need my beauty sleep Leo-san. Punching-  I mean, telling that women to leave Hasumi-sama alone drained more energy than I thought.”

Leo crossed his arms. “Fine then. I’m going to sleep then.”

“Good. Now be quiet.”

.

..

...

“I’m serious, I’m really going to bed now-”

“GOOD NIGHT EVERYONE-DONO!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you expect a bad yokai to show up so soon!? I didn't. But I hope it wasn't too scary to imagine.
> 
> Next chapter is going to be a doozy so I don't know when it'll be up. I also need to work on my other fic so... I hope this chapter will suffice. *bows* I also hope you had a happy girls day! Our yokai count is up to 5 now, I wonder how many more do I need to add before Keito learns he can just take off his glasses so he won't see them anymore. I joke.


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